Wizards' Gallery (2)
A massive castle floating in the sky. To the citizens below, it was an enormous threat. If that thing fell, the entire city of Ansan would vanish in an instant.
Normally, the city would already be in chaos, with people fleeing in panic.
"It's awfully quiet."
But the city was remarkably peaceful. People were going about their daily lives as usual, and no one paid any attention to the castle overhead. The reason, of course, was cognitive distortion magic.
Impressive, huh?
The flow of mana coursing over the castle's surface was no joke. It was far more powerful than any cognitive distortion magic I could cast—something on a whole other level.
"Doesn't seem hostile... for now."
The castle itself was Saga-level. If it were at odds with humans, Ansan would've been gone long ago. It was probably affiliated with a group friendly to humanity, like the Management Bureau.
"Hey, Se-ah."
To get the details, I needed to ask someone in the know. I called I Se-ah, and she picked up with a reluctant tone. Pretty much every time I contacted her, it was because something had gone wrong.
"I'm in Ansan right now. There's something huge floating in the sky."
Ma Tower? It didn't exactly look like a tower, but it fit as a gathering place for mages.
"Anything I need to watch out for?"
"Why shamans?"
According to I Se-ah, mages and shamans differed in how they handled anomalies. Shamans divided them into guardian spirits and yokai, but mages hunted them all indiscriminately. The two groups didn't get along, and fights sometimes broke out, even resulting in deaths.
"What's a witch?"
Beep.
I Se-ah hung up abruptly. When I called back, she didn't pick up.
"She flagged and dipped."
I let out a deep sigh. In a world where superstitions were real, pulling a stunt like that meant she was definitely tangled up in witch-related trouble. Next time I saw her, I'd flick her forehead hard.
"Anyway, let's eat first..."
No point regretting it now. The Ma Tower was floating above, and I'd just run into a mage. I was already involved before calling I Se-ah. Better to shove the worries aside and grab some food.
"Gotta eat hearty..."
Something told me I'd be burning a ton of energy soon. Time to nourish up in advance.
I scarfed down a hearty bowl of samgyetang. Ten minutes before the appointed time, Kim Gwa-jang showed up casually, and we headed to the meeting spot together.
"Thank you for visiting our factory. I'm President Kim Man-deok."
"I'm Lee Jin-seok, manager from Hanseol Tech."
The business itself was straightforward. Renegotiating with an expiring contractor and scouting a new factory. Simple enough for Yeon Dae-ri to handle, but the company wanted to do it properly.
"Would you like to tour the factory?"
"Sure, why not."
This was a factory we'd worked with for years. We could've just renewed, but no reason to turn down a tour.
We left the office and circled the factory floor.
"We've brought in the latest equipment recently... doubling our utilization rate..."
"Wow, really? That's impressive."
Nothing much to see. Machines hummed smoothly, workers looked fine. The president droned on, but it went in one ear and out the other.
What's he doing?
Off to the side, Kim Gwa-jang was glued to his smartphone, typing furiously. Chatting with someone? Then he tapped my shoulder.
"Gonna hit the restroom."
"Yeah, go ahead."
Touring wasn't critical, so a bathroom break was fine. I nodded casually, but a doubt crept in.
Didn't he just go before the meeting?
Before we could question it, he was off. Not a big deal, though. People hit the john twice sometimes.
"Hm?"
About a minute after Kim Gwa-jang left, a KakaoTalk popped up from him. The message felt off.
"..."
I sent a follow-up, but no reply. It felt like his usual prank, but off today. Normally, he'd wait a bit then say it was a joke. And he'd ditched me to evacuate, right?
"Hah, that bastard Kim Gwa-jang."
Typical troll, bailing solo. But I got the intent—no complaints. Probably meant for me to protect the others. For all his flaws, he was a blood donor and good guy... to outsiders.
"My bad feelings~ never lie~"
BOOM!
Not long after, as expected, shit hit the fan at the factory. A perfectly fine machine exploded and transformed like a Transformer. Dozens of mechanical arms, conveyor belt treads. Red glowing eyes, eerie whirring—a mad killing machine.
"What the hell is that?"
"Are they filming a movie?"
At first, the factory workers didn't grasp the danger. Some even pulled out phones for pics. Classic modern folks—can't resist the 'gram. If only they knew it might be their last selfie.
[Kikikikik!!]
"Ugh, aaah!"
Clang!
The killing machine swung a mechanical arm at a worker. He dodged barely, but the cement floor cracked, shards flying everywhere. Only then did they realize something was wrong. Screaming, they bolted for the exit.
"Door won't open!"
"Push, don't shove!"
"Pulling doesn't work either?!"
Too bad—the doors were sealed by a gyeol-gye right after the anomaly appeared. Caught at the entrance, the workers were cornered.
Soon, a massacre of dozens? Yeah, if I weren't here.
Feel the waves of the deep sea. I permit nothing else.
I sliced my palm, blood trickling. Black smoke billowed out, spreading through the factory and blinding everyone's sight and hearing.
"Can't see!"
"Who's there? Say something!"
Panicking in the dark, they huddled in the corner, trembling—touch was all they had left. I glanced at them, then turned to the killing machine.
"Hm... magic doesn't work on it?"
[Kikikik...]
I tried magic on the machine, but it stared ahead unfazed. Not that strong, yet it nullified my spell? Deep sea magic wasn't invincible after all...
[Hiiing...]
Of course deep sea magic is the best! Deep sea magic is super strong!
I quickly soothed the sulking Shin-nim and racked my slow brain for the failure's cause.
Shared vision?
Activating my snake eyes, I saw the mana flows. The machine was linked to other factory equipment, borrowing their sight.
Blind their eyes too.
[Fwoooong.]
Smoke enveloped all equipment; now it was blind.
[Kikik? Kikikikik!]
"Whoops."
Bang! Boom!
Panicking, it thrashed wildly. Couldn't let it wreck the partner's factory, so I hurled magic at it.
Deep Sea Tentacle, strike.
[Shrrrrk!]
Long time no see for the tentacles. One burst from the magic circle, slamming the machine monster hard and sending it crashing through the wall. The factory's gyeol-gye broke, but I slapped a new one up—no issue.
...It'll hold, right?
First time casting one; hope it's solid. Ma Tower would handle any problems. Cognitive distortion was already on—job done, time to bolt.
"Time to die."
[Kikikik...]
Mortal wound from the tentacle—it sparked and staggered. One more hit to finish.
Cleaner, crush it.
[Shrrrrk!]
The summoned tentacle lingered, so I directed it. Leg shot out fast; machine blocked with arm but pierced through in seconds.
"Done."
It exploded with a pop. Ominous mana blanketing the area subsided under my power. Just bail now...
"Hero arrival!!"
"Shit."
Then a hole punched in my gyeol-gye. In flew a red-robed mage, staff in hand, landing amid spurting flames.
"Stay right there, wicked anomaly! The hero has come to judge you!"
"I'm not an anomaly."
Obviously Ma Tower mage. Some dimwit underling. How could anyone mistake a human like me? Fighting felt wrong, so I tried talking.
"Lies! I sense the clear aura of an evil god from you!"
"...What?"
"Minion of the evil god! This hero will take you down!"
He deployed a magic circle. I watched a moment, then smirked, boiling my mana.
"I'll hit you just hard enough not to kill."
Talking smack about evil gods near someone else's wife? Time to beat some manners into this punk.